Chapter 107: With this, the exorcism is complete

**The "Miasmic Tumor" is enormous.**

Its size is several times, even dozens of times larger than the houses of the villagers in Konda Village. He couldn't possibly use a measuring tool to determine the diameter of the "Miasmic Tumor" and then calculate its volume through a series of complex equations, could he?

Moreover...

The "Miasmic Tumor" crashed to the ground once again. This eerie, purple-black glowing object, resembling a heart or a ball of light, began to shrink gradually. Finally, with a "bang," it exploded and completely dissipated. At this moment, Li Mo noticed that the innermost roots controlling the "Miasmic Tumor" had been stained with a purplish-black hue.

The word "tumor" perfectly described what it was.

"So, the roots of the Sacred Sakura have been corrupted? No wonder the filth is so powerful."

Li Mo murmured, "But it's over now, right?"

"Yes, it's over, Li Mo."

Without turning around, Li Mo knew who the voice belonged to.

A mask, red and white shrine maiden attire, and short black hair.

Hanachirusato stood there.

"Li Mo, do you have anything to say?"

"Have my complicated and conflicting feelings been noticed? Hanachirusato, I've actually thought about it. What would happen if we delayed the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual?" Li Mo said.

Throughout this journey, Li Mo's mood had been heavy. If it were the him from the Demon Slayer era, he would have joked, laughed, and mocked. But here, there was always a sense of low pressure...

Of the two who traveled together, only one was destined to remain.

"But you still completed the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual, didn't you?" Hanachirusato said.

"Yes... because it was your wish."

Completing the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual was Hanachirusato's goal. As a friend, he had to respect her choice. Along the way, if Hanachirusato had shown even the slightest hesitation, Li Mo would have stopped. But she never wavered.

Hanachirusato laughed. Though she wore a mask, her laughter was still audible.

"Yes, this is my wish.

Li Mo, a long, long time ago, before I met Kitsune Saiguu, I wandered the lands of Narukami Island. Watching the villagers rebuild their lives from the ruins after natural disasters, I pondered: Why was I, Hanachirusato, born into this world?"

The meaning of life.

Everyone is like a leaf, with different veins. Kitsune Saiguu's mission was complete. She had protected what her friend cherished most—Inazuma.

So, what was Hanachirusato's mission?

She had been lost in the past. Kitsune Saiguu was someone who could see through problems, but he never directly explained. Hanachirusato understood the thoughts of that great onmyoji. If he had spoken, it wouldn't have been her mission.

Hanachirusato said, "Later, I carefully sorted through Kitsune Saiguu's memories. I discovered that her final obsession was to perform the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual and complete the last purification.

This obsession, combined with the filth, gave birth to 'Hanachirusato.'

My mission was clear.

For hundreds of years, I have been working toward this goal. Back then, I thought I would disappear alone from this world."

She looked at Li Mo and gently said, "Thank you, my friend. Last night's fireworks were beautiful."

Fireworks are beautiful.

From Kitsune Saiguu's memories, Hanachirusato knew this. But when the night sky was lit up with blooming fireworks, their fleeting beauty deeply touched her heart.

At that moment, Hanachirusato realized something.

Memories borrowed from others are far less meaningful than those created by oneself.

"Hanachirusato, why not try? Preserve your consciousness and wait for an opportunity to be revived," Li Mo suggested.

He explained his plan with Yae Miko.

It was to preserve Hanachirusato's consciousness, hoping that one day she could be revived.

Hanachirusato asked, "Is this really possible?"

"Of course. Please don't underestimate me, a traveler who has journeyed through countless worlds. Even if this world doesn't have the means, we'll go to the next one, and the next after that."

Li Mo said.

There are many, many worlds beyond this one. A single worldview might contain infinite worlds, and there are countless worldviews.

We'll find a way someday.

"My consciousness, without the filth to sustain it, cannot exist..."

"Well, it doesn't cost anything to try, right? Also, Miss Hanachirusato, my mask is already ruined."

Li Mo held a broken mask in his hand, a disaster-warding mask gifted to him by Urokodaki. But because it served as a conduit for Hanachirusato's power, its ordinary material couldn't withstand the strain for long.

"Then... let's try," Hanachirusato knew he wasn't really asking for compensation but rather her cooperation.

Thinking of Yae Miko's earlier actions, she shook her head. She would give it a try.

"Li Mo, do you have any other questions? I'll answer as best as I can," Hanachirusato said.

Li Mo replied, "No, I don't."

"Then, I'll begin."

In that moment, Hanachirusato thought of many things.

She chose to try, but she also knew the chances of success were slim.

Perhaps this was her last moment of reflection. So, she began to recall the five hundred years of memories that belonged solely to her.

Konda Village, the Konda and Shimura families, descendants of Kitsune Saiguu's memories, continued to exist into the present.

The descendants of Yashiro Commissioner's lineage still served as shrine maidens.

The oni had successfully integrated into human society.

The people saved by Lady Kitsune Saiguu continued to thrive on the lands of Narukami Island.

The only thing that troubled her was...

"Li Mo, I'll leave the Memory Lens to you. It was once a tool she gifted to Hiiragi Hirotsugu, but it was modified into this form... I have nothing else to give, so I'll leave this to you. If there's a chance in the future, I'll remake it."

Was the anxiety she felt Kitsune Saiguu's, or her own?

But she would no longer be influenced by Kitsune Saiguu's memories...

Hanachirusato was simply Hanachirusato.

"Finally, I'll leave you with a short poem that Lady Kitsune Saiguu once loved.

'Parting from you, I know not when we'll meet again. I am like the morning dew, fleeting and transient.'"

Hanachirusato cast her spell.

Then, incantations flowed from her lips.

—With this, I declare its purification.

The Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual was complete.

Even Li Mo, with his limited knowledge of mysticism, could feel the change. The oppressive atmosphere vanished, replaced by the refreshing feeling of walking through a forest at dawn.

The hollow, filled with the vitality of life, deep underground at the heart of Mt. Yougou, seemed to bask in sunlight. The withered roots, once corrupted by filth, appeared rejuvenated, with new buds sprouting.

The barren rock walls around them were now adorned with pink cherry blossoms, brimming with life.

Winter had passed, and spring had arrived.

"Until we meet again."

Li Mo said.

Before him, Hanachirusato's body began to fade. Her form crumbled, and cherry blossom-like fragments scattered into the air.

Hanachirusato, Hanachirusato.

To scatter like a flower might have been her fate.

But Li Mo didn't believe in fate. As a traveler between worlds, he wasn't bound by such things.

All that remained of Hanachirusato was her mask. Even her shrine maiden attire had dissipated with her.

But it didn't matter... Li Mo had foreseen this.

He picked up the mask, ready to rush to the Grand Narukami Shrine to find Yae Miko...

"Ah, young man, have you forgotten? You can't fly, can you?"

At that moment, Yae Miko's voice echoed in the air.